At 400 Alton Road, Miami Beach, Florida sits the Arkup, a $5.5 million yacht house powered entirely by solar energy.
The floating villa is 75 feet long and 32 feet wide and has 4 bedrooms and 4.5 bathrooms, an extendable deck for entertaining large groups, and a full kitchen – all with the freedom and functionality of a yacht.
According to the Southeast Florida Climate Change Regional Compact Sea Level Rise Work Group, South Florida sea levels are projected to rise 6 to 12 inches by 2030, 14 inches to nearly three feet by 2060, and 31 inches to nearly seven feet by 2100.
It has two air-conditioned levels, with 9-1/2-foot ceilings on the first floor and 8-1/2-foot ceilings on the second. There are three bedrooms upstairs with three full and roomy bathrooms — no cramped and tilting heads on this boat — and two balconies.
There is 2,600 square feet of indoor space and 1,750 square feet of outdoor space.
Downstairs, there’s an inviting living room, kitchen, dining area, two bathrooms and a small room with a Murphy bed that could be an office or guest quarters. Interior design is by Brazilian company Artefacto. A sliding outdoor deck adds 500 square feet of floor space when fully extended.
At the stern, the swim platform can be lowered into the water to create a mini pool. There’s a boat lift for your kayak or amphibious vehicle.
The bow deck has an outdoor kitchen and console controls for navigation and operating the 136-hp rotating electric thrusters, which emit no noise and require no diesel fuel, and the anchoring system, which allows adjustments of each piling to level the boat.
Arkup has a maximum speed of 7 knots and a range of 20 nautical miles that can be increased with additional battery banks or a backup generator.
Arkup’s steel hull and superstructure is built to withstand Category 4 hurricane winds (up to 156 mph). The 40-foot-long pilings, or spuds, enable the boat to anchor in up to 25 feet of water and elevate above the waves. The draft is five feet. It’s got a 4,000-gallon freshwater tank and an equal-sized tank for waste water. The 2,400-square-foot roof is covered with 36-kilowatt capacity solar panels that recharge the battery.
